SINGLE REVIEW: Samantha Jade Feat. Pitbull – Shake That

For some reason Sony Music Australia think if they have Pitbull or 2 Chainz feature on a song that it will become a hit. They are very wrong with this assumption. Samantha Jade is the newest artist to fall victim to this marketing scheme with the release of her fifth single since winning X Factor in 2012. Samantha usually delivers well produced and infectious pop gems but with “Shake That” she majorly disappoints. The song begins with a decent Latin influenced verse that allows her to experiment with call & response techniques with her vocal delivery. It’s a sound that has been used a lot recently in pop music and maybe it’s for that reason that it doesn’t stand out as much as it should. But it’s the cringe worthy chorus that will have you wanting to forget this track. The hook sounds like an unwanted sequel to Hannah Montana’s “Hoedown Throwdown”. It sounds forced, gimmicky and not the usual confident and sexy Samantha that we are used to. Her singles leading up to “Shake That” have been powerful pop tracks that have strong hooks and a playful character to them. The song structure and flow feels disjointed and would work a lot better with a different hook and a non Pitbull feature. This was the wrong choice as a lead single for her album “Angel” and should have been marketed with a pop ballad that both radio and TV would have had on heavy rotation but this song won’t get that treatment.